Q4. Read the narrative below and answer the questions that follow. (20 marks)

One day on a farm, cat took out her walking stick and started to walk laboriously along the road, leaning heavily on her stick. Hen, who was pecking at the ground nearby, looked up and said, “Aunty Aunty, where are you going?”

            The cat said, “I am off to the holy city to give my annual offering”. Hen said, “May I come with you? I will accompany you on your long journey and at the same time perform my pilgrimage as well”. Cat replied “If you must, there is no stopping you”. So both of them started moving further on the road. Then they met Duck. Duck said, “Aunty, where are you going?”

Cat replied, “Come if you must,” Duck joined them.

A little ahead they met Mouse. Mouse asked, “Aunty where are you going?” Cat replied, “I am going to the holy city,” Mouse asked, “May I come along with you?”Cat said, “If you want to dear.” They walked along the road for sometime then cat said, “Oh my old bones, now they ache ohoo.” The three stopped and offered to rest along with her. Cat said, “Hen may wait with me if she likes, the two of you go on ahead. We will catch up with you.” The cat pounced on the Hen and ate her up.

            After a few hours, Cat caught up with Duck and Mouse. When they enquired about Hen, Cat said, “Oh, she had forgotten her offering at home and has gone back for it,” And they walked on.

            The next day Cat began to groan again, and this time asked Duck to stay with her. Mouse went on ahead. When Cat caught up with Mouse she said Duck has forgotten her offering as well.

            At this Mouse got suspicious for if Duck forgotten her offering as well she would have turned back with Hen. Meanwhile, Cat thought: “Now it is the turn of Mouse, what a delicacy! The taste will linger for a long time in my mouth.”

Then she said to the Mouse, “Mouse let us stop for a rest.” After a while she said, “It is long since I played catch and catch with anyone. Why don’t I fulfill this desire for who knows how long I have to live?”

            Mouse began to play; he ran here and there; soon he realized that Cat was out to get him so he quickly darted into a hole in the ground. Now cat know she could not get Mouse so she said, “Mouse, Mouse, come out. I want to tell you a story,” Craftily Mouse replied, “You tell the story and I will listen to it in here.”

            So, you see whenever Mouse sees Cat, he runs quickly to hide for he knows that Cat is after him. He has not forgotten the uncompleted journey to the holy city.

(a)        Giving a reason, classify this narrative.                                                          (2 marks)

(b)        What features of oral narratives are evident in this story? Explain any 4.     (4 marks)

(c)        Briefly explain any two character traits of the Cat in this story.                    (4 marks)

(d)       What two lessons do we learn from the story?                                               (4 marks)

 (e)       Why do you think the Duck did not complete the journey?                          (2 marks)

(f)        What does the story reveal about the community from which the story was taken?

(2 marks)

(g)        Explain the two problems you could encounter when collecting this type of oral gen          (2 marks)

Answers.

-Aeteological /Explanatory narrative -1mark

            -Explains why the mouse runs quickly when it sees a cat.                             1mark

(b)        – opening formulae (1) one day……………………. (1)

            -personification (1) Hen said…../ Cat said…………… (1)

            -dialogue (1) Hen/ Cat/ Mouse hold different conversations (1)

            – Ending formulae (1)- so you see……………… (1)

            – Timelessness (1) One day, the next day ……………. (1)

-Fantasy (1). The Hen, Cat, Duck, Mouse behave like human beings/audience appears

 to agree with this fantasy (1)                                                                         Any 2 x2= 4 marks

                  NB. No mark for illustration without identification

(c)        -Religious (1) –goes to the holy city to give annual offering (1)

            – Scheming/cunning (1) – tricks Hen and Duck and feeds on them (1)

            -Greedy (1) –says “now its turn of the Mouse ……..The taste will linger for a long time in my mouth

                                                                                                            Any 2x 2 =4 marks

            NB. No mark for illustration without identification

(d)       (i) We should me wary of our friends/ those posing to help us (1)

            -Illustration: The cat posed as a good friend, both Hen and Duck trusted her to their demise. (1)

            (ii) We should not involve ourselves into other peoples affairs arbitrarily. (1)

            -Illustration: Hen, Mouse and Duck joined Cat when they saw her going along the road/

Cat only told them to join her if they wanted to. (1)

               NB. Accept proper/ relevant illustrations

            Accept other plausible morals

                                                                                                                        2 x2 = 4 marks

(e)        The Cat must have eaten her up, just as she had done with Hen.                  2 marks

2.

(f)        (i) Religious – homage to the holy city for annual offering                            2 marks

            (ii) Artistic- The cat says she would tell a story to Mouse……… “You tell the story…….”

                            Identification -1mark

                            Illustration -1 mark

                                                                                                                        Any 1 x2=2 marks

 (g)       – Unco-operative/ incompetent/ forgetful informant.

            -Language barrier.

            – Hostile community.

            -Adverse weather conditions.

            – Breakdown of recording devices

                    (Accept an explanation)                                                              Any 2×1=2 marks